Project: Possibilities and tools to enhance circularity in multi-storey wood-building construction
Shifting to a more circular economy is a necessity for a resource-efficient and competitive economy, and is crucial to address our society’s pressing challenges of climate change, primary raw materials depletion and waste. In this project, we identify favorable conditions and technical solutions, and develop open-access tools to promote circular economy in multi-story wood building construction, focusing on materials, design and construction solutions for maximization of circularity potential of such buildings.
Project information
Project manager
Ambrose Dodoo
Other project members
Jonn Are Myhren, Dalarna University, Felix Quarcoo, Linnaeus University
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University, Dalarna University
Financier
Kamprad Family Foundation
Timetable
1 jan 2024 – 31 dec 2026
Subjects
Building technology (Department of Building Technology, Faculty of Technology)
Research groups
Building physics, Wood Building Technology
Linnaeus Knowledge Environment
Green Sustainable Development
More about the project
Transitioning from conventional building construction practices to a circular mindset, using as few of Earth's resources as possible during construction, poses a challenge. In this project, we focus on multi-storey wood building systems using cross-laminated timber (CLT), also known as mass timber. Today, CLT has made it possible to construct tall multi-storey wood buildings, and the industry in Europe, including in Sweden, is growing. However, the CLT multi-storey building industry faces a number of challenges which have implications for its competitiveness, especially in view of the current pressures for circular economy. Notably, CLT multi-storey buildings have not been currently constructed in a manner that facilitates circularity. Existing knowledge on circular multi-story wood-based building construction is presently scarce.
To make the CLT building technology more circular and environmentally friendly, strategies are needed for design and construction of CLT buildings to facilitate optimized post-use material recovery. The key to this lies in knowledge development in this regard, in collaboration with the industry, leading to new production systems, products, and services. This project aims to support the timber construction industry by developing open-access tools for promoting circular building construction, and highlighting incentives and potential environmental savings that can be achieved through the implementation of circularity strategies in multi-storey wood building construction. This will enable the industry to more easily transition to a circular economy in its operations and be well-positioned for future policy changes.
The research is conducted in collaboration with municipal and regional authorities and companies working with wood materials, building design, and construction.
The project is part of the research in the research groups Building physics and Wood Building Technology and in the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment Green Sustainable Development.
